.
,
.
“You don’t look old enough for pensioner’s bus pass”, said the driver.
“Oh, thank you kind sir”, I said.
“Only kiddin’ mate. Do you need help stepping up from the pavement?”
I ignored him and found myself a seat. I was I surrounded by elderly folk in various stages of awakedness, an ocean of white hair and shiny bald patches; except for one charming young lady who looked like a fish out of water!
Suddenly my phone rang. Loudly. You should have seen the looks I got!
“Hello”, I said in my most cheerful voice.
“Hi”, said the caller “It’s Tillie”
“Millie”, I said, how nice”,
“It’s Tillie not Millie you silly Billy!”, she chuckled!
Anyway Tillie-not-Millie and I had a lovely chat by the end of which the dour assembly had returned to their snoozing, reading and gazing from the windows, except the bloke behind me who tut-tutted and muttered to his wife, ”young people and their bloody phones”.
I turned, assuming his comment to be an amusing reference to the conversation I had earlier with the driver.
“If you can’t beat them, join them!”, I quipped.
“I was talking about my great-grandson, not you”, he snapped.
Enough was enough. I rang the bell, the bus stopped and I hopped off – followed by the charming young lady!
“I’m glad to be back on terra firma, aren’t you?” I said, “I’m going for a coffee, fancy one?”
“In your dreams old man”, she said as she flounced off into the distance..
,
Yes, I admit to having a bus pass. The expiry date refers to pass, not me – at least, I think so!
Thanks to Jenne Gray and CEAyr for hosting The Unicorn Challenge
Ha. Well done.
Thank you so much!
My first laugh came with the line ‘various stages of awakedness‘. Great piece, dear Keith, with a hilarious ending!
Thanks, Nancy. That word has been lurking in the corner of my mind just waiting for the chance to pop up, then along came an opportunity – just like a number 85 bus!
And right on time, too! Great stuff, dear Keith!
Oh, I enjoyed the ride! I wish we had Pensioner’s Bus Passes! This prompt made me realize how long it has been since I was even on a bus- and I just might give one a spin.
We get free travel bus passes automatically, and we can use them anywhere in the country, including London which is very useful!
That’s amazing! Meanwhile, here in NY transit workers are striking for more money and that will result in increased prices for commuters. A free ride is unheard of!
Your tale brings to mind the old adage: some days ye jist cannae win.
Though why it came to mind in Scots I have no idea, Keith!
Loved the Tillie/Millie/Billy fun.
I ‘ad a bubble bath when I read that me ‘ole china plate!
I seem to have gone Cockney now!
Anyway, glad you liked it, Jenne, thanks so much.
Laughing here, Keith.
And ‘flounced’ is a great word!
It’s a lovely word to say out loud, like another favourite of mine, moist! Delighted to have amused you CE!
Fun one Keith. I’ve got a senior’s bus pass but haven’t test driven it yet………… neither has Hubby!
I like mine, I’ve used it all over the country. Go on, give it a go!
Hubby hasn’t used his either so maybe we’ll have an outing!
Hilarious! And what a quick return down to earth 🙂
It certainly was! Thanks, Beth.
A trip to the dumps, eh! Hope you have better luck next ride.
Perfectly put! Cheers, Christine.
Lots of smiling here, Keith, with your latest post. I’ve been riding the bus (TheBus) here in Honolulu for years. The cost for “Seniors” seems to go up every few years, but the $50.00 is still worth it for the convenience – that’s $50.00 per year!
Sounds fair enough to me, but getting totally free here is great!
Fun story! I’m not sure if the busses here give a discount for seniors but they likely do.
If they don’t, they should!
I’ve heard that bus tickets are quite expensive in UK. It’s good to have a bus pass.
They are normally but in recent months they’ve been reduced drastically to encourage more people to use the buses. I still prefer not having to pay at all thanks to my pass – growing old has its advantages!
Very true there are hospitals and labs that charge less for people over 60.
ok, engaging the Reader is the first rule of flash… the lol at the end, that’s the genius part!
Thanks for your generous words, Clark.